Rapidly rising levels of TFA, a class of “forever chemicals” thought to harm fertility and child development, are being found in drinking water, blood and rain, causing alarm among experts.
TFA, or trifluoroacetic acid, is a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), a group of man-made chemicals widely used in consumer products that do not break down for thousands of years. Many of the substances have been linked to negative effects on human health.
Studies from around the world report sharp increases in TFA. An important source are F-gases, which are supplied to replace ozone-depleting CFCs in refrigeration, air conditioning, aerosol cans and heat pumps. Pesticides, dyes and pharmaceuticals can also be sources.
“Everywhere you look it is increasing. There is no study showing that the concentration of TFA has not increased,” said David Behringer, an environmental consultant who has studied TFA in rain for the German government.
“If you drink water, you drink a lot of trans fatty acids, no matter where you are in the world… China experienced a seventeen-fold increase in trans fatty acids in surface water in ten years, and in the US a six-fold increase in 23 years. ” It has been found that the TFA in rainwater in Germany has increased fivefold in twenty years.
“I’m concerned about this because we have never seen a chemical in recent history that accumulates so quickly in so many media,” says Hans Peter Arp of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “It has been accumulating over the decades in our tap water, the food we eat, plants, trees, the sea and everything.”
He added: “We have all experienced rising TFA levels in our blood since the Montreal Protocol (banned CFCs). Future generations will have increasingly higher concentrations in their blood until some form of global action is taken. Accumulation (in the environment) is essentially irreversible and I fear the impact on people and the environment will not be recognized by scientists until it is too late.”
Last month, Germany’s chemical regulator informed the European Chemicals Agency that it wanted to classify trans fatty acids as reprotoxic, meaning it can harm human reproductive function, fertility and fetal development.
Denmark and Germany have set limits for trans fatty acids in drinking water, but Britain has not. UK water companies have been asked to assess their drinking water sources for 47 types of PFAS, but TFA is not on the list.
The UK Health and Safety Executive has identified TFA as “a substance of concern as there is evidence that it may cause developmental toxicity” and the Environment Agency says it is planning a targeted program to test for TFA in surface and groundwater.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it would continue to “assess the levels of PFAS found in the environment, their sources and potential risks, and inform policy and regulatory approaches.”
“Regulations require that drinking water must not contain substances at levels that could pose a potential hazard to human health. If TFA is found in drinking water, we expect companies to respond in the same way as for other PFAS compounds.”
But TFA is incredibly difficult to remove from water. “There’s no way to get TFA out,” Behringer said. “Reverse osmosis is extremely expensive and not scalable, so it makes sense to stop the input.”
The European Fluorocarbons Technical Committee, which represents the F-gas and chemical industries, says TFA occurs naturally in large quantities in the environment. It says the industrial use of TFA is limited and its emissions to the environment are very low. It did not respond to a Guardian request for comment.
But these claims have been disputed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says TFAs are a breakdown product of F-gases. Furthermore, research on Arctic ice cores shows that TFA levels have risen sharply since F-gases replaced CFCs in the 1990s.
“Every time the industry says this is normal, they’re citing certain scientific papers,” said Prof. Shira Jourdan, an environmental analytical chemist at the University of Alberta. She said she reviewed these decades-old articles and found that they only suggested that TFA occurred naturally due to a lack of knowledge about its origins at the time of the studies.
“No evidence says it’s natural,” Jourdan said. “If the industry says it is normal, that is a danger because then no one takes responsibility for the pollution.”
Ariana Spentzos, from the NGO Green Science Policy, said: “We are following the well-known PFAS playbook by allowing reckless environmental pollution and only figuring out afterwards what trail of damage has been left behind. We are just beginning to understand the health risks associated with TFA.”
Environmental groups are calling on the UK government to take more action to tackle PFAS substances. “PFAS presents a global chemical pollution crisis that requires urgent action,” said Hannah Evans of the campaign group Fidra. “We are calling on the UK government to prevent PFAS emissions at source, which includes reviewing F-gas and pesticide regulations to phase out PFAS.”
The German Environment Agency recommends using natural coolants instead. Chairman Dirk Messner said: “TFA is found everywhere – in water, soil, food and the human body. It does not break down and can hardly be removed from drinking water. However, TFA-forming chemicals are numerous and emerging. Persistent substances from multiple sources, such as trans fatty acids, fall through the regulatory loopholes. To reduce TFA emissions to the environment, we need consistent, precautionary regulation, cross-sector minimization and, where possible, substitution with TFA-free alternatives.”